Tag Archive for: gardening

Dartmouth Assets handover from South Hams District Council

The Council have been working hard for several months now in order to complete the handover of the town’s assets from South Hams District Council.  It has been a long and drawn out process, but we are now delighted to announce the handover of the Royal Avenue Gardens, Coronation Park and the Castle Estate will complete on the 27th July 2018.

Our fabulous gardening team, headed up by Rob Harkness, will then be able to really formulate their strategy for improvements and ongoing maintenance from the 30 July.  They will start with a particular focus on tidying paths and walkways within the Royal Avenue Gardens, weed spraying, cutting back hedging, cleaning benches and bins and planting bedding.  At Coronation Park, there will be extensive pruning and improvement of the flower beds, bramble removal and making sure pathways and access are clear.  The Castle Estate is a very special place, and Rob and his right-hand man Matt Horan will ensure that the area remains a beautiful place for quiet contemplation and enjoyment, cutting back and tidying where necessary.  All of the work will be in conjunction with the ever helpful Dartmouth Green Partnerships with whom we have an excellent working relationship.  Our Community Orchard is looking good and we will continue to work really closely with the Friends of the Orchard committee, who do a great job of helping to maintain another of Dartmouth’s very special public places.

Matt Horan has returned to Dartmouth as our prodigal son, after being a gardener here for over 13 years with South Hams District Council he went to work for Hoburn Holidays for a few years, but now he is back and raring to go.  He is well known throughout the town and is really looking forward to returning Dartmouth and its green spaces back to their former glory.

Rob quoted ‘It has been a fantastic few weeks weather-wise, but also we have been pleasantly surprised at how friendly everyone has been whilst we have been watering over 200 floral displays, weed spraying and highway verge cutting around the town.  It makes a big difference to the job to see some smiling faces and receive positive feedback on the work we have been allowed to carry out during the transition stage.  My favourite time though has to be first thing in the morning, just as the town is waking up, Dartmouth is absolutely breathtaking with superb scenery and as Matt says, we cannot wait to return the town’s parks and public spaces to top-notch condition.’

It is a huge task for the boys, but they are so dedicated they have even given up their bacon sandwiches to save time and work on their six packs, just in case the heat wave continues – gardening is really hard work in warm weather, the plants and gardeners get very thirsty!

If you see them around the beautiful town of Dartmouth, give them a wave and say hi.  It will make their day!

They will be #busybeesindarty throughout the year.

www.dartmouthtowncouncil.gov.uk